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Foreigners this way
Dear Editor,
I work in Bangkok and am on a few days leave, going
through my books in the little hut in Chiang Mai. As always when in the
valley, one of the first things is to go up to Doi Suthep and admire the
view. I have done this since I arrived in Thailand in 1983. This time, after
climbing the nearly 300 steps, which is a real pleasure in the crisp
mountain air, I found a huge sign: FOREIGNERS THIS WAY, so of course I
followed it. I found a ticket counter and was asked to pay 30 B admission;
of course I politely declined and went back to the car.
I have seen the temple once too often; it was recently
restored with all the fake marble and tasteless decorations you find in the
houses of the new rich the world over. The charm of old Doi Suthep has gone
and I will not fail to spread the news around, which should result in a few
less tickets sold, to the “Foreigners This Way”.
Tourism, corrupting even religious institutions, is not
always a good thing, although a lot of businesses are making a very
comfortable living out of it.
Regards,
Foreigner going the other way
No nauseating pictures, please
Dear Chiangmai Mail,
You seem to be everywhere. There is hardly anything that
you miss out on. What a task you took on! The mixture between news for/from
Thais and farangs is very nicely balanced. I was always wondering what was
happening in CM, but being illiterate in Thai, could never understand Thai
news.
The big (and positive) difference between your reporting
and Thai reporting is that you do not print these nauseating and humiliating
photos of corpses lying on the street somewhere and I am positive you have
them as well. It shows that your team looks at the paper with a ‘farang’
eye.
I thoroughly enjoy the interviews and the good mix of
Thai personalities, farang residents and even women as local personalities,
which is still not taken for granted. It also shows the variety of
nationalities and characters living in this town.
Just go on bringing us our weekly news, we look forward
to it every Saturday.
Claire Sato
Hoping that we can live next to each other in peace
Editor;
I do not know if it is my imagination but every week
there seems to be more news and more interesting things in your paper. You
seem to cover most informative aspects and themes anyone can wish for living
in a foreign country.
I look forward to reading (almost) every column and,
regarding your mailbag, could not agree more with Simon Welch (Vol.27) who
hopefully survived his vacation. He thinks people driving here seem to be
suicidal and sometimes it does seem to be. But since we, as guests of this
country, cannot change this, we just have to live with it, hoping that one
day we can all live next to each other in peace.
Regarding moaning people - this is a chance for everybody
who doesn’t like it here or who wants everything as it is ‘at home’.
Guess you know what I mean.
Sincerely,
Hui Yi Yangmi
Let the Mail guide you
to good food
Dear Chiangmai Mail,
I have followed your articles and news for quite some
time now and we (my wife and I) are surprised anew every week, of how much
is going on in Chiang Mai. If you live a little bit outside the city, it
seems like a very sleepy ‘village’ but reading what’s happening, this
can’t be true.
We enjoy the cultural features very much, and information
regarding the ‘social scenes’ and seriously considering becoming a
member of one of the service clubs. It sure would be fun sometimes to dress
up and do well at the same time.
It is also an enjoyment to recognize some of the people
we have seen in the social scene photos, because we normally stay a little
isolated, which we are considering has to be changed.
Very much our interest is your ‘Dining Out’ column
which we follow almost every time. To criticize it, would be wrong, because
we believe that it is not your fault if the service is not as satisfying as
when you were there. But about 90% of what you reported was exactly the
same. For us it became a fun part now to wait for the newspaper and see
where we will go dining that weekend. A real challenge since you do not only
report about high-class restaurants but also try to find hidden places in
sois we otherwise would never even know existed.
Sincerely,
Jon and Elisabeth Keijzer
Seeking RAST
Dear Sir,
I received from a friend, who lives temporarily in
Chiangmai, a copy of Chiangmai Mail. On side 10/11 are addresses of clubs in
Chiang Mai. Unfortunately I couldn’t find any info about RAST (Radio
Amateur Society of Thailand) Chiangmai branch. Is it possible to find it
out?
For your help, thanks a lot.
Happy weekend & kind regards,
Hans-Jürg
Editor replies: After a long, arduous search
(about 5 minutes) this is what we found out: Radio Amateur Society of
Thailand, Chiang Mai Province, contact Mr. Rungroj Chantarungsri, president
of RAST, Chiang Mai Office, 112/1 Moo 7, Tambon Faharm, Muang District,
Chiang Mai 50300, tel. 053 853025, fax 053 852416.
Now knows what the buses are
Dear Sir, Madame,
Just a quick ‘Thank You’ regarding the information in
Vol. 27 regarding the already launched air-condition bus project. I really
hope it will be successful and relieve the traffic situation a little bit
because these last weekends, it was just unbearable.
If Chiangmai Mail would not have given this
information, I guess all farang residents of Chiang Mai would still be
wondering what these buses are about in 6-months time.
Hope to get more positive news from you…
A regular reader and fan,
Pascal Hertz
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